Congresswoman Maxine Waters Has a Message for Banks Who Don’t Want to Shape Up

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Caleb Newquist

“If they don’t come up with loan modifications and keep people in their homes that they’ve worked so hard for, we’re going to tax them out of business,” Waters said. [ABC via TaxProf]

Wesley Snipes May Still Be Able to Get Back into the Vampire Game

Caleb Newquist
June 26, 2010

If it wasn’t for WS, there would be no vampire craze. Sure the last Blade film was six years ago. And sure the first in the series was twelve years ago but it doesn’t mean the man still didn’t start the popularization of bloody-thirsty, sexy undead types.

However, this prison sentence thing hanging over his head has probably made him a bit of a liability. But thanks to some crafty lawyering, he’s been able to stave off the joint long enough to catch a bit of luck.

Since Ponzi-schemer-to-the-stars Kenneth Starr has been outed as a complete shame (not to mention a complete wuss) Wes can get back to the business of making truckloads of cash in this bloodsucking phenomenon:

A federal appeals panel is considering whether the arrest of actor Wesley Snipes’ former financial adviser could pave the way for a new trial on tax evasion charges.

Snipes was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison in 2008, but his attorneys asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to allow a new request to dismiss the movie star’s conviction or grant him a new trial.

The motion centers on the arrest of Kenneth Starr, the one-time financial adviser to Snipes and other celebrities.
He was a key witness in Snipes’ 2008 trial but was charged in May with securities fraud worth $59 million.

Federal panel considers Wesley Snipes’ appeal [AP]

Office Depot Loses Tax Credits; CFO May Have Lost His Lunch

Caleb Newquist
April 2, 2011

Office Depot CFO Mike Newman can’t handle – CAN’T HANDLE – the bad news handed down by the IRS:

“I’m sick about it,” Newman said of the mistake the company and its advisors made in thinking Office Depot could use tax credits of $80 million last year and $63 million this year, calling the mistake his responsibility. Office Depot and its tax advisors believed the company was eligible to use prior losses to get tax credits under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but the IRS told the company that other tax rules superseded the ones under which Office Depot was using to determine eligibility.

Of course we’d love to know who this “advisor” is that Newman is referring to. Since Deloitte earned over $589k in tax fees for fiscal year ’10 you could conclude that he’s referring to D. It’s certainly possible that it’s someone else so we invite you to come up with some theories.

Office Depot Off; Explains Impact Of IRS Tax-Credit Denial [Dow Jones]